AirAsia again top Malaysian brand in Asia’s top 1000

Report predicts economy and politics spell gloomy outlook for Malaysia as international brands take the top spots in the annual ranking.

KUALA LUMPUR: International brands continue to rule the roost in Malaysia, taking the first five positions in an annual ranking.

The top home-grown brand is AirAsia at number 7.

Last year too AirAsia was the highest ranked Malaysian brand in the 2015 Asia’s Top 1000 Brands survey done by Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen. It was also at number 7 then.

The top brands in the list this year for Malaysia are: Samsung, Nestlé, Sony, Panasonic and Apple – in that order.

Canon came in sixth, with 100 Plus, Nike and Maggi at positions 8, 9 and 10 respectively in the latest rankings.

Among Malaysian brands, Maybank came in at 23, Maxis at 44 and Petronas at 52.

Campaign Asia-Pacific reported that Malaysia has not had a good year, with 2015 marking the introduction of a goods-and-services tax, public transport hikes and numerous other cost increases.

“This has all been made worse by a declining ringgit that has lost nearly a quarter of its value against the US dollar over the year after dropping eight percent in 2014.”

Last November, Nielsen reported that Malaysian consumer confidence had dropped to a 10-year low, driven mainly by increased concerns about the economic outlook, the currency woes and growing uncertainty over the country’s political stability, the report said.

Saying the controversy surrounding 1MDB continued to have a bad effect, the report added that external factors, including declining oil prices, China’s slowing economy and US interest rate hikes, also did not favour the Malaysian economy this year.

The report said industry players also expected single-digit growth in advertising expenditure (adex). Advertisers of discretionary products such as quick-service restaurants, lifestyle and fashion products, tourism and entertainment are likely to see greater adverse impact.

According to Nielsen figures, the market’s adex extended its decline in October, dropping marginally to RM1.1 billion from RM1.23 billion in the corresponding period the previous year.